Summary:
ZIP code 54495, in Wisconsin Rapids, is served by a single public elementary school: Mead Elementary, which enrolls about 266 students in grades PK through 5 as part of the Wisconsin Rapids School District.
Mead's test results are mixed and moving. Third-grade reading was the brightest spot in 2025-2026, with 60.61% of students proficient — above the district (53.9%) and the state (52.08%) — and the school-wide reading average rose from 33.64% to 46.80% year over year, a larger gain than either the district or the state posted. Fourth-grade science also improved to 59.09%, above the state's 53.46%. Math is the clear concern: no grade level met the state rate, and fourth-grade math dropped to 29.55% proficiency, the lowest figure in the data. Across grades 3-5, the school averaged 46.8% in reading and 35.9% in math, both below district and state averages. Its state percentile improved from 20 to 29, though it still carries a 1-star rating.
For context, 78.2% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, per-student spending is $19,658, and the student-to-teacher ratio is 9.5 to 1 — a small, heavily staffed model serving a high-need population. Chronic absenteeism is 18.4%, identical to the district and slightly above the state's 17.3%. Because each grade has only a few dozen test takers, year-to-year swings can be large and should be read with caution. Mead sits roughly at its district's level — 29th percentile versus the district's 27th — and reading progress, science, and attendance are the strengths to build on alongside math.
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